Judge Orders Additional Study - Delays Project Start Date

posted by Gregory Sanders | 47sc
August 03, 2016

Purple Line NOW was disappointed by Judge Richard Leon's order mandating a project delay for additional study. PLN Board President Ralph Bennett elaborates, “The need for the Purple Line only grows more compelling over time as our region adds new residents and jobs. We have no doubt that the study ordered by Judge Leon will affirm the same fact found by all of the past studies: our region desperately needs East-West transit alternatives. This decision delays relief for tens of thousands of future riders, for employees going to a job in Bethesda, for students young and old commuting to the University of Maryland, for 90,000 Marylanders who will newly be within a half mile of transit, and for thousands of workers who will be employed to construct it."

The ruling delays a project supported by Maryland's Republican Governor, Democratic statehouse, and by the public and elected officials in both Montgomery and Prince George's counties. "We take Metro's safety difficulties very seriously, as do our elected officials, the Maryland Transit Agency, and the Federal Transit Administration," says Purple Line Vice President Greg Sanders. "They are well aware that the region needs both systems and that the Purple Line is planned to start operation in 2022, years after the current Metro repairs are complete.”

With your help, Purple Line NOW will remain engaged to highlight the project’s widespread support and the many ways it will make our region better for decades to come. We are already planning an exciting forum on September 29th that will bring in experts from Denver, Colorado to show us the real world benefits of a public-private partnership model employed by the Purple Line. Stay tuned for all of the details coming soon!

We are dismayed, but not discouraged and confident that together we can overcome this setback, just as we have greater challenges in the past. Please feel free to call or email with questions or concerns as we move forward!